Select the option that expresses the following sentence in reported (or indirect) speech.
The postmaster said to her, “You can purchase only two stamps at a time.”
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
The correct answer is option 4 i.e. The postmaster told her that she could purchase only two stamps at a time.
- The sentence "The postmaster told her that she could purchase only two stamps at a time" is the correct reported (or indirect) speech form because it accurately converts the direct speech "The postmaster said to her, 'You can purchase only two stamps at a time.'" into indirect speech.
- It uses "told" instead of "said to" for a more natural reporting style, adjusts "you" to "she" to reflect the change in perspective, and changes "can" to "could" to match the past tense used in indirect speech.
- This transformation maintains the original meaning while fitting the grammatical structure of reported speech.